What makes it different from others?

Pretty Good

Excellent, smart action film.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It would be trite, but nonetheless true, to assert that this movie could not be produced today. Only the mind of filmmaker Tod Browning, who came to the world of film making from a background in carnivals and circuses, could have conceived of a story this bizarre. Only a great actor like Lon Chaney could do justice to the dual role of Echo the ventriloquist/Gramdma O'Grady. Above all, of course, today it would be considered unthinkable to utilize an actor like the inimitable Harry Earles, particularly cast in the role of a villain. But then this film was the product of the equally inimitable Tod Browning, the man who subsequently created the notorious movie "Freaks, which also featured the unique talents of Harry Earles. The story involves three side show performers; Echo the Ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), Hercules the Strong Man (future Academy Award Winner Victor Mclaglen) and Tweedledee the Midget (Harry Earles). Fed up with life on the midway, the "Unholy Three" team up to open up a pet shop which they intend to use as a front for a series of burglaries. Echo, disguised as a little old lady, poses as the proprietor, while Hercules is her shop assistant. Tweedledee passes himself off as the old lady's infant grandson (apparently nobody ever notices that the "baby" has a full set of teeth!). Also assisting them is "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" (Mae Busch), a pickpocket who had formerly been in business with Echo when they were both working in the carnival.Although Lon Chaney was known for his spectacular horror films, in his day he made a lot of crime films as well, and "The Unholy Three" falls under that heading. Apart from the scenes in which he is disguised as the "sweet Little old lady", in which he is very convincing, in this film Chaney appears as a regular person, which was a relatively rare thing in his career.Presented by a superior cast of actors, "The Unholy Three" is certainly among the most unique crime dramas ever filmed. It definitely deserves an 8 out of ten. Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that this movie made such an impression at the time of its release that it was subsequently remade as a sound movie, with Lon Chaney and Harry Earles reprising their roles. In fact, the remake of "The Unholy Three" was the only "Talkie" that the great Lon Chaney ever made before he died, much too soon, at the age of only 47.

Murderous anomalies from the circus sideshow were "old hat" by the time director Tod Browning Helmed the infamous FREAKS picture in 1932, which almost single-handedly brought on 81 years of film censorship in America (and counting). In 1925, Browning put out this silent--THE UNHOLY THREE--in which one thing leads to another, potentially posing a very sticky wicket for what an Intertitle card here labels "the grim machinery of the law." Sure, you can modify an American snuff chamber with his and her electric chairs (complete with a "cry room" for the young children, as in the Rosenberg Case). But how the dickens do you construct a triple-hanging scaffold for a strong man, a ventriloquist, and a 20-inch midget? The former's neck strength and the latter's lack of weight probably would leave both dangling and thrashing about indefinitely, while the man in the middle's dummy would be screaming bloody murder! Many spectators would die laughing--just the opposite of the desired outcome! Browning solves this conundrum by having a gorilla kill the strongman and the midget (off-screen, of course). Since the voice thrower sings for the court, he gets off with a song.

Say what you will about the plot or with music or not, I enjoyed the hell outta this thing (Without music), and just Loved Lon Chaney in it. He was such a shady-lookin' character, with such an ugly, creased, fascinating face. One that had both light and darkness in it. And the man could act. It's not hard to see why he was the top box-office draw at one time. Also, I gotta give a shout out to big man Victor McLaglen, future Gypo Nolan from John Ford's "The Informer". Here he's not as drunk or beefed-out yet, but he's lean and mean and does just fine.And Super-Props to the biggest little man Harry Earles, future avenged cuckold in "Freaks" (Awesome!) and yes, one of those damned annoying munchkins from Oz. But here, he's one dastardly little fake-baby criminal. In his first scene, what he does to the kid in the crowd? So Bad. And smoking a cigar and talking' some smack from his high-chair, like he was imitating Pacino from "Scarface"? Even Better. (Special Request for the Cinema- Gods: More midget characters like this in movies, please.) But far and away the Best is still Lon Chaney, as Professor Echo, the Ventriloquist. Performing in a silent movie as somebody who "throws his voice" for a living, he carries the crazy plot, lights up the screen, and just does such an amazing job.My favorite thing in the movie is toward the very end. When the girl comes back to him at the sideshow because he's fulfilled his end of the bargain, but then he does the decent thing and lets her go back to the man she loves, and she's walked away after he's said goodbye through his dummy, and she's turned and waved and left, there's a moment where Chaney rests the dummy's head on his shoulder and "they both" sigh and watch her walk away. The look on his face... It's just so sad and beautiful. One of the greatest images in film ever.Thank You, Lon Chaney, wherever you are.

I had an afternoon free so I decided to watch the two versions of this Lon Chaney classic back to back, beginning with this one -- Tod Browning's silent original. It's the story of a crooked carnival ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) who teams up with the midget (Harry Earles) and strong man (Victor McLaglen ) for a series of robberies. Chaney dresses as an old woman and Earles plays a baby to perfect their scheme. In many ways this was a precursor to the popular Little Rascals/Our Gang short subject FREE EATS, where a couple of gangsters act as parents to a couple of little people dressed as infants, mistakenly referred to as "fidgets".Whether it's the silent version or sound remake, I thought this was a wildly entertaining story either way, though it's difficult to fairly judge one film or the other when they're viewed together so closely like this. There are pros and cons to both movies for me. The strength of Browning's silent version was that in many ways it felt much more stylish and better crafted, possibly with better production values... but I found I preferred Lila Lee as Rosie O'Grady (from the sound version) to the silent actress here, Mae Busch. The 1925 original perhaps feels a little too long, which is the only thing which kept it from being perfect for me. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if most fans prefer the silent film simply because it was directed by Tod Browning. My advice is to see them both! ***1/2 out of ****